Saturday, 22 October 2016

In 10 days we move to very small temporary lodgings, so I have started packing. My sewing room is full of boxes and most of my fabric stash is already packed, so no more sewing or quilting for me this year... boohoo! It will all go in storage until we have found a place to live in Sydney and moved there, which we hope will be in mid-December, when the boys have finished school here in Brisbane.

So knitting it is now - the Tumbling Blocks baby blanket is halfway finished (it's rather time-consuming), and I have also started another project: a summer scarf. Spring has sprung here and temperatures are rising, so no more beanies or wrist warmers, but an airy cotton scarf to use on summer nights. I found the pattern here and decided to make it in my favourite colour, turquoise:

My BFF in the Netherlands sent me a gorgeous belated birthday present: this beautiful yarn bowl.

I absolutely love it, and am glad that I will have something of my own in our temporary living space that will make me feel happy whenever I look at it!

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

Since I rediscovered knitting in July, I have finished quite a few projects (you can see them all here on my Ravelry page) and collected a lot of stuff - knitting needles, circular needles, cable needles, a crochet hook etc. With our upcoming move to a temporary smaller place in mind, I decided to make a case to keep it all together.

It was a quick and easy project (finished in less than two hours) and I thought I'd share the instructions here for those of you who would like to make a case of their own. You don't need to be an experienced sewer to make this case - it is enough if you can sew a straight line.

1. Lay down the 18'' x 20'' inner fabric rectangle. Lay the 18'' x 13'' pocket on top with the bottom edges matching. Lay the 18'' x 8'' pocket on top of that one, bottom edges matching, and the 18'' x 4'' pocket on top of that one (see photo below).

2. Lay the 18'' x 20'' outer fabric rectangle on top of the inner fabrics with the right side facing down. Trim off both top corners as shown in the photo below and pin the layers together:

3. Sew around the edges using a 1/2'' seam allowance, leaving a 6'' gap in the middle of the top edge. Trim the corners. Turn the case right side out through the gap. Use a pointy tool to push out the corners (I use the end of a paint brush). Press the case, folding in the fabric edges at the gap. Top-stitch all around, a few millimetres from the edge, thereby closing the gap.

4. Use a fabric marker and a ruler to draw vertical lines on the inside of the case. I decided to make (from left to right) two 1'' sections, four 2'' sections and two 3'' sections, but you may want to use different sizes. Sew along those lines, starting at the bottom edge, and backstitching at both ends.

5. Find the middle of the ribbon. Sew it to the front of the case, just above the middle pocket. Stitch back and forth a few times, over the top-stitching that was already there.

6. Fold down and press the flap at the top.

I decided that the bottom row of pockets was too deep (the darning needle got lost in it), so stitched a horizontal line 1'' from the bottom edge.

Put your knitting stuff in the pockets, roll up the case, tie the ribbon and admire your handiwork!

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Since we are moving to Sydney in December, we drove down there in the September school holidays to check things out, and to do the touristy things with the kids, who had never been to Sydney before. We all loved Taronga Zoo, and the photo above is my favourite from the trip. Of course the Opera House always looks great too:

We stayed in Narrabeen in the Northern Beaches, which is the area we hope to live in. So beautiful!

We drove home via Armidale, where we stayed for two nights, and did some sightseeing. The Wollomombi Falls were spectacular:

My husband and eldest son went for a walk together and saw an echidna! Hugo managed to take this photo with my DSLR:

I did a lot of knitting in the car (we drove more than 2500 km in 8 days) and managed to finish my Josephine Shawl:

Not too happy with the yarn I used - it does pill a lot, but I like the shawl!

And now it's time to start packing - in 3 weeks time, on November 1st, we move out of this house into temporary lodgings. The location is perfect (close to schools, gymnastics, hubby's work) but it's very small, so all our furniture, including my sewing machine, will have to go into storage until we move to Sydney.

So sadly no more quilting for me this year, instead I'll be knitting and designing quilts in Illustrator!

Tuesday, 4 October 2016

UPDATE: Quite a few people are having trouble getting the instructions and/or the template on Craftsy. If you are not able to download them there I am happy to email them to you. Just leave me a comment, but don't forget to add your email adress!

When Marian asked me to be part of this Row Along in April, I immediately knew what to do for my row. My home is, and always will be, the Netherlands - even after almost 10 years in Australia.
I have lived in many different places in the Netherlands, but in the last four years before we moved to Brisbane, we lived in a small town in the province South-Holland, close to the famous flower fields. They have inspired me to make a quilt before - Thinking of Holland, in 2013. It hangs over our dinner table and is still one of my favourite quilts:

That quilt clearly has a vertical orientation, and I was keen to try and make a horizontal design this time. I pieced the flower fields, added the blue fabric for the sky and appliquéd the windmill shape to it.

I did not trim my row to the required size of 40.5'' x 12.5'', but left it a bit larger to make it into a wall hanging. I densely quilted the flower fields and quilted the sky a bit more loosely, using matching Aurifil threads.

Welcome

I am a quilt pattern designer and textile artist. At the moment I am obsessed with crochet! Originally from the Netherlands, I have been living in Australia with my husband and our 3 sons since 2007 - first in Brisbane, and since December 2016 in Sydney on the Northern Beaches. In January 2018 we will move back to Queensland to live on the Gold Coast.